Books and Movies
Currently I am reading Julie Andrew's autobiography about her early years, entitled Home. I can imagine her reading her story out loud with her impeccable diction (maybe I should buy the Audio Book). She offers her impressions of World War Two as a young British girl growing up as well as her contributions to the British version of vaudeville, appearing for the King and Queen, etc. She does not gloss over the sad parts of her family life, including her parents' divorce and her stepfather's (and later mother's) alcoholism.
The other book I am making my way through is The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis. I had hoped to have The Chronicles of Narnia finished by the time Prince Caspian came out, but alas, I am only in the third book of the series. We hope to watch the movie as a family, having recently watch the BBC version which came out a while ago. Marisol read The Voyage of the Dawn Treader for Freshman English.
My friend Lori sent me I Am David by Anne Holm for my birthday. It is a wonderful story about a young boy who escapes from a concentration camp in Eastern Europe and has to arrive to Denmark to be reunited with his mother. Written from his point of view, I Am David became a movie starring Jim Caviezel (Jesus in The Passion of the Christ) and Joan Plowright. I prefer the book to the movie for its vivid word pictures.
I finally read The Book of the Dun Cow, a goal for many years. Its author, Walter Wangerin, claims that it is not an allegory, although it does use the setting of a barnyard to show the fight between good and evil. I did enjoy reading it, but I found the narrative somewhat dense to chop through at times. Still, the dialogue and characterizations of simple barnyard animals are genius.
For my English class this semester we read a biography of the missionary to China, Gladys Aylward. She was not accepted by the mission board in China because of her age and her perceived inability to adapt and learn the language. Gladys ended up going BY TRAIN THROUGH RUSSIA ON HER OWN to China and spent the rest of her life there until expelled by the Communists. She and another woman opened an inn to minister to the men from the mule trains. Later she began adopting and caring for orphans and led over 100 of them through war territory to safety. Her life story definitely inspires. She is played by Ingrid Bergman in Inn of Sixth Happiness, although Hollywood severely dilutes the message. Gladys herself hated the movie.
The final book I have read of late is Dinner with a Perfect Stranger by David Gregory. Gregory sets up his story by having Jesus send a dinner invitation to a man, who doesn't know Jesus invited him. Their conversation centers around the man's reservations about Christianity and Jesus' responses. Short and concise at 100 pages, the book could be a great resource for a Sunday School class or Bible study or a great gift for a friend. I really enjoyed reading it.
Two nights ago Marisol and I watched Juno. Juno is a high school student who becomes pregnant and goes about trying to find the "perfect" couple to adopt her unborn child. She befriends the husband and later finds herself disillusioned when the couple's marriage falls apart, but she honors her commitment. The language and situations are a bit unconventional at times (a possible warning depending on your viewing habits), but the story offers an alternative to the movies that condone abortion on demand without painting a rosy picture.
The other book I am making my way through is The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis. I had hoped to have The Chronicles of Narnia finished by the time Prince Caspian came out, but alas, I am only in the third book of the series. We hope to watch the movie as a family, having recently watch the BBC version which came out a while ago. Marisol read The Voyage of the Dawn Treader for Freshman English.
My friend Lori sent me I Am David by Anne Holm for my birthday. It is a wonderful story about a young boy who escapes from a concentration camp in Eastern Europe and has to arrive to Denmark to be reunited with his mother. Written from his point of view, I Am David became a movie starring Jim Caviezel (Jesus in The Passion of the Christ) and Joan Plowright. I prefer the book to the movie for its vivid word pictures.
I finally read The Book of the Dun Cow, a goal for many years. Its author, Walter Wangerin, claims that it is not an allegory, although it does use the setting of a barnyard to show the fight between good and evil. I did enjoy reading it, but I found the narrative somewhat dense to chop through at times. Still, the dialogue and characterizations of simple barnyard animals are genius.
For my English class this semester we read a biography of the missionary to China, Gladys Aylward. She was not accepted by the mission board in China because of her age and her perceived inability to adapt and learn the language. Gladys ended up going BY TRAIN THROUGH RUSSIA ON HER OWN to China and spent the rest of her life there until expelled by the Communists. She and another woman opened an inn to minister to the men from the mule trains. Later she began adopting and caring for orphans and led over 100 of them through war territory to safety. Her life story definitely inspires. She is played by Ingrid Bergman in Inn of Sixth Happiness, although Hollywood severely dilutes the message. Gladys herself hated the movie.
The final book I have read of late is Dinner with a Perfect Stranger by David Gregory. Gregory sets up his story by having Jesus send a dinner invitation to a man, who doesn't know Jesus invited him. Their conversation centers around the man's reservations about Christianity and Jesus' responses. Short and concise at 100 pages, the book could be a great resource for a Sunday School class or Bible study or a great gift for a friend. I really enjoyed reading it.
Two nights ago Marisol and I watched Juno. Juno is a high school student who becomes pregnant and goes about trying to find the "perfect" couple to adopt her unborn child. She befriends the husband and later finds herself disillusioned when the couple's marriage falls apart, but she honors her commitment. The language and situations are a bit unconventional at times (a possible warning depending on your viewing habits), but the story offers an alternative to the movies that condone abortion on demand without painting a rosy picture.
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